Back on Track

  Somehow I let my blog get off course.  I haven't been blogging very often. Hopefully now that we are more settled in our new home I can get back at it!  I am still actively cleaning out any and all excess that I discover.  I love how our new home is starting to take shape! Now to get to work so I will have something worth blogging about!

Book Review - "Finding Our Way Home" by Charlene Ann Baumbich

"Once she'd served herself, Evelyn sat down, bowed her head, put the palms of her hands together , and said her usual premeal prayer, a prayer that covered many things during the day too. "Grace, Amen"

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich (Chapter 1 Excerpt)     " Finding our way home" by Charlene Ann Baumbich is a cozy afternoon type of book about the power of grace and how it worked in the lives of two very different women.  Big boned and perpetually sunny Evelyn has just graduated high school and much to her parents dismay has chosen to put off collage to work and to eventually marry her fiancee.  She ends up working for Sasha, a former ballerina whose career met a tragic end.  Bitter Sasha can't help but warm up to Evelyn's cheery disposition.  Together the unlikely pair help each other through physical and relational trials all while learning about grace,both God's grace and the grace that friends and family extend.
     This is the sort of book that you want to curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and a splash of sunshine.  I loved Evelyn's go get em, glass half full attitude.  It was very refreshing.  I was, however, a bit perplexed by two things.  The first being that it had more comments on sexual intimacy then I was expecting in a Christian novel.  They were tasteful and moral but I was surprised none the less.  The other thing was that a talisman played a significant role in the story.  Again, I was surprised to find this in a Christian novel.  It seemed odd to me to have God's grace and a talisman play large rolls in the same story.  Other then that, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

I received a free copy of this book for review from WaterBrook Press.

Book Review - "Submerged" by Dani Pettrey

   Baily is a girl with a past. She has since come to know Christ as her saviour but things she has done long ago continue to haunt her. The death of her beloved aunt cause her to leave the new life she has made for herself and head back to the one place that she never wishes to see again. It is the small town of  Yancey, Alaska, a place where everyone knows the girl that she used to be. She plans to go to the funeral, wrap up her aunts affairs and go home.  That is, until clues surface.  Clues that lead her to believe that her aunts death was not the accident that every one believed it to be.
   "Submerged" by Dani Pettrey is a fast paced story with interesting characters, intriguing scenery and a deep message about letting go of the past and accepting the future Christ has in store for us.  I thought the mystery was a bit predictable but the characters were so full of personality that they filled in any gaps. The way the author wove in romance and a bit of Russian history into the story helped it to grab and hold my interest. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading other stories by the author.

I recieved a free copy of this book to review from Bethany House publishing.